


A Little Bit Smitten

by mrsfrisby



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Boys In Love, F/F, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Girls in Love, Jedi Code, Jedi Training, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, everyone in love (why not?), who says Jedis can't fall in love?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 10:00:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5963191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsfrisby/pseuds/mrsfrisby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Starkiller Base is destroyed, Rey meets Jess at a party and one thing leads to another--all the night before Rey has to leave to find Luke Skywalker. But can Rey be a Jedi and also find love? Or will she have to choose between her training and someone she only just met?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “He’s smitten,” Jess says. 
> 
> “I can tell.”
> 
> Rey sits back down on the bed and runs her fingers down Jess’s arm. 
> 
> “I’m a little smitten myself,” Jess says.

The room is pitch black even though Rey can feel that it's already morning. It takes only a moment to orient herself—to remind herself where she is. No one has windows in their quarters on base. It’s a luxury the Resistance can’t afford. Not that she’s accustomed to having luxuries in her life. On the contrary.

Rey shifts slightly and a muffled sigh comes from behind her. She freezes—panics just a little bit. Then she feels a soft breath on the back of her neck as the person sharing the narrow bed with her nuzzles into her shoulder.

One deep breath, then another. She forces herself to breath in and out, as carefully as she can. Slowly—painfully slowly—the night before comes back to her. The Corellian rum she drank. The awkward attempts to get her new friend Poe to stop worrying about Finn. The even more awkward attempts to ward off the unwanted attentions of someone named Snap. The relief she felt when Poe’s friend Jessika intervened. 

“Wexley, seriously?” Jess had asked. “I could kick your ass. Easily. You’re really going to take your chances acting like this with the Jedi who took down Kylo Ren?” She gave out a low whistle. “You’re a braver man than I thought you were.”

Snap had mumbled something inarticulate and walked away.

And Rey looked at new her companion with complete admiration. “I wish I knew how to do that,” she told Jess.

“Do what?”

“Be intimidating.”

Jess laughed out loud. “You’re intimidating enough,” she told Rey. “You just need to learn how to cultivate it.”

“Maybe you could give me lessons,” Rey replied, surprised at the tone of her own voice. She sounded like someone who had a shred of a sense of humor. She sounded like someone who was flirting.

With a wide grin, Jess said, “With pleasure.”

After that, Jess stayed by Rey’s side and they talked and talked. Sure, they drank a little too much, too. And Rey felt lighter than she usually did—less like herself. Or maybe she was just more able to relax and be herself? Regardless, Jess was like a roaring fire on a cold Jakku night and Rey couldn’t resist warming herself by it. She found herself telling Jess things—things about herself no less—that she’d never confided in anyone up until last night. Stars, she’d never had anyone but Finn to confide in before, and she’d only had him briefly before the war took over both of their lives. Now he’s in a medbay ward in a coma. 

And she’s in bed with Jessika Pava.

Jess sighs again in her sleep and then slips her hand over Rey’s bare stomach before dragging her fingers down lower. Rey’s breath catches in her throat.

“You awake?” Jess whispers in her ear. Rey just nods in response.

“Good,” Jess says, and pulls her even closer. Rey can just barely feel the feather-light kisses that Jess brushes up her shoulder and over her neck. And Rey knows she should get out of here. She knows this isn’t who she is—the kind of person who winds up in bed with a stranger. 

But she doesn’t want to leave. Or, at least, she doesn’t want to leave until she absolutely has to.

As Jess keeps touching her, more pieces from the night before fall into place. She remembers talking until after the party was long over, their legs draped over each other’s on the narrow bench in the common room. She remembers the thrill she felt when Jess invited Rey back to her quarters. The fevered rush to get inside each other’s clothes (the same clothes that still lie in a heap on Jess’s floor). The sensation of Jess’s fingers exploring every inch of her—and then Rey’s finding their own way around Jess’s body. She remembers looking down and seeing Jess between her legs, making her feel things she didn’t even know it was possible to feel.

She knows she should get out of here. She has a mission to start today. This morning. She has to go see Finn before she goes—maybe even find Poe and try to reassure him that Finn really will be okay. Rey was puzzled, until now, as to why Poe was so invested in what happened to Finn. But after being with Jess like this, she wonders if there’s more to his concern than mere friendship.

Yes, there’re so many things she should be doing right now.

Instead, she turns so that she can wrap her arms around Jess. As she leans in and kisses her, Jess slips a leg over Rey’s hip and lets her hands wander. 

There’s nothing in the world like the feeling of Jess’s hands wandering.

Well, there is one thing that’s even better, but Rey had no idea what that was until last night.

They kiss until they’re breathless and then break apart laughing.

“I didn’t mean for this happen,” Jess says, smoothing Rey’s hair from her forehead. “I swear, I wasn’t trying to get you drunk so I could sleep with you.”

Rey smiles at Jess. “You didn’t get me drunk,” she says. “I did that myself.” She kisses Jess again, slow and deep. “And I wanted this.”

“Me too,” Jess says in a quiet voice. “I just don’t….”

Rey places her fingers over Jess’s lips. “Don’t worry,” she says. “I won’t tell anyone. Nobody has to know.”

“Nobody has to know?” Jess says. “Are you kidding me? I got the most beautiful girl on the entire base. I expect to brag about this to no end.”

It’s hard for Rey to tell if she’s more surprised that Jess is going to tell people they did…this—or that Jess said she’s the most beautiful girl on the base. 

“Wh…what?” she manages to stammer out.

Jess lets out a hearty laugh. “I’m only kidding, Rey,” she says. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”

“No, it’s not that,” she protests. “It’s just that….”

But Jess’s fingers are on her cheek and she forgets what else she was going to say. 

“Listen, don’t worry,” Jess says. “Really. I get that you’re leaving today. I even get that you’re probably going to become a Jedi for real and that you won’t be allowed to be with me even if you want to.”

Rey thinks about the night before—how they laughed and talked. How happy she was just being near Jess. And then how much happier she was when they came back to this tiny room. She reaches over and turns a small light on by Jess’s bedside. They both wince a little at the sudden light, but Rey needs to be able to see Jess when she says what she’s about to say.

“I would want to.”

Jess’s eyes crinkle into a smile. “Me too.”

There’s a knock at the door, but Jess keeps her eyes on Rey. “Go away,” she calls.

“I wish I could, Jess,” is the muffled reply from Poe on the other side. “But the general’s looking for Rey, and she’s not in her room, and I wondered…..”

The two women lock eyes, and then Rey climbs from the bed, wrapping a blanket around her as she walks to the door. Poe’s eyes widen when he takes in first the state Rey is in, and then the fact that Jess is still in bed looking equally rumpled.

He looks past Rey to Jess. “Sorry, Jess,” he tells her. She just waves him off.

Poe turns to Rey instead. “Chewie’s got the Falcon ready and General Organa wants to brief you before you leave.”

“I’ll be right there,” Rey tells him. He nods and starts to walk away, but she reaches out and touches his arm. “Take care of Finn while I’m gone,” she says, knowing that he will, but also sensing that he somehow needs permission to do it.

“I will, Rey,” he says, his voice unsteady. “When he wakes up, I’ll be there.”

When, not if. She likes Poe even more than she did before.

But then he’s gone and it’s just her and Jess again.

“He’s smitten,” Jess says. 

“I can tell.”

Rey sits back down on the bed and runs her fingers down Jess’s arm. 

“I’m a little smitten myself,” Jess says.

They smile at each other. 

“Now, see, that I couldn’t tell,” Rey says, and they both laugh again.

“When will you be back?” Jess asks.

“I have no idea,” Rey says. “I don’t even know if this map will really lead us to Luke Skywalker. Or how he’ll react if we do find him.”

Jess just nods, looking away. 

“Hey?” Rey says. Their eyes meet. “I’m a little smitten, too.”

They smile at each other in the dim light.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her Jedi master begins to walk away, but then stops. “One night with this woman and you’re willing to throw away all of your training?” he asks.
> 
> The idea of throwing away her training never occurred to her, though. She wants to be a Jedi, but she wants to have a normal life, too.
> 
> As if he can read her thoughts—because he probably can, she realizes in dismay—Luke says, “You can’t have it both ways.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Her Jedi master begins to walk away, but then stops. “One night with this woman and you’re willing to throw away all of your training?” he asks.
> 
> The idea of throwing away her training never occurred to her, though. She wants to be a Jedi, but she wants to have a normal life, too.
> 
> As if he can read her thoughts—because he probably can, she realizes in dismay—Luke says, “You can’t have it both ways.”

“Concentrate. Let go of your thoughts and feelings.” His voice is low, almost a whisper. Controlled—everything about him is controlled. Rey’s trying to be like him, but it isn’t easy for her. She’s been alone, her thoughts as her only companions, for too much of her life for her to ever want to shut them out.

But Rey takes a deep breath and tries anyway. 

Then, somehow, she’s doing it. Her thoughts fly away and other images take their place. A low stone cave in the side of a mist-filled mountain appears before her. A voice calls her name from inside, though she doesn’t recognize it. She crouches and walks into the dark mouth of the cave, following the voice. The inside isn’t what she expected, though. Instead of cold stone walls, she finds the bustle of the Resistance base on D’Qar. Everyone’s packing things up, as if they’re going to move. She sees Snap and starts to back away, but then he fades into the background and General Organa looms before her. Without saying a word, she touches Rey’s shoulder and then points toward a corridor on the right. 

Rey rushes past her, wanting to know what’s down this long hall. It’s dark, but she’s not afraid of something as simple as the dark. She keeps walking, and then suddenly she hears voices—voices she knows this time. 

“You had me so worried, buddy,” Poe says, relief and happiness and something else clear in his every word.

“I ruined your jacket.” The response comes in a shaky, tired voice, but Rey’d know that particular voice anywhere. She sees Finn in a medbay bunk, hooked up to a dozen machines. BB-8 is chirping in the corner, his head, as always, defying gravity as he does. The scene is exactly as it was when she last saw him, except now he’s awake—holding Poe’s hand and giving him a weak smile.

“It’s your jacket now,” Poe says, correcting Finn. “And if we can fix up your back, we can fix up a jacket.”

Her heart swells, knowing that Poe was as good as his word—he was there when (not if) Finn woke up.

Then someone bursts through a door opposite her, and her heart does more than swell.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Stormtrooper,” Jess says. “Glad you finally decided to rejoin the living.”

They all laugh, but then Jess looks up—looks right at Rey even though Rey knows that it’s impossible that she really is—and Rey stops breathing. 

She coughs…sputters—and her concentration is gone.

“Finn’s awake,” she says in a quiet voice.

“Yes, I know,” Luke replies.

“You know? Then why didn’t you tell me?” 

He shakes his head. “You’re not here to check up on your friends,” he reminds her. “You’re here to learn about the Force. To become a Jedi. And to do that, you have to let go of all of them.”

Now it’s Rey shaking her head. “But I don’t want to,” she tells him. “I don’t even think I can.”

“There’s no choice,” Luke replies. “The sooner you understand that, the sooner you’ll be able to move forward with your training.”

Rey pulls herself off the ground and walks a few steps away from him. There’s no choice? She doesn’t believe that. She doesn’t believe that choosing the Light Side of the Force means turning her back on the people she loves.

She thinks about General Organa, Luke’s own sister, who’s been through so much and yet still fights for the good of the galaxy—all while caring deeply for every single member of the Resistance. She thinks about Finn and Poe holding hands, their love for each other already so clear to her, even if they don’t realize it yet themselves. And she thinks about Jess and the one night they had together before Rey had to leave.

“There is a choice,” Rey tells Luke. His eyes widen in surprise. “There can’t be only one way to follow the Light. Loving other people makes it easier to see what’s Light and what’s Dark.”

“The Jedi have followed this code for thousands of years before you came long, Rey,” Luke replies. “Do you think you know better than they did?”

She mulls that over for a second. “I think I know myself better than they could,” she says at last. “Better than anyone could.”

The weariness in his voice strikes to her very core when he speaks again. “And other Jedi before you haven’t felt the same way?” he asks. “You’re the first to feel the pull of love and friendship?”

Rey just squares her shoulders. “I’ve spent my entire life alone, Luke,” she tells him. “Up until I met BB-8 and then Finn, I was completely on my own. I’ve only just found my life.” She pauses and lets her eyes wander over the sea all around the little island they’re on. There’s so much more green and blue than she’d thought existed before. So much love to give and receive.

“I’m not going to give up my life when I’ve only just started to live it,” she says firmly.

Her Jedi master begins to walk away, but then stops. “One night with this woman and you’re willing to throw away all of your training?” he asks.

The idea of throwing away her training never occurred to her, though. She wants to be a Jedi, but she wants to have a normal life, too.

As if he can read her thoughts—because he probably can, she realizes in dismay—Luke says, “You can’t have it both ways.”

Rey just nods. “I understand,” she says. 

A momentary fury passes over Luke’s face, but then it disappears and he walks away from her, leaving her with her thoughts. She reruns the vision she saw of Finn awake and with Poe and Jess in her mind’s eye like it’s one of the holovids they watch on D’Qar. She allows herself to dig deep into the moment until she feels like she’s there herself. Then she feels the weight of Jess’s eyes on her, even in the vision. Rey’s sure Jess couldn’t really see her, but it felt like she could.

Yes, it was only one night. But it was talking and laughing even before it was anything else. Jess said she was smitten. Rey did, too. 

But is she really willing to throw away her training after one night? And is it all just about Jess? Or is it the whole, wider world of being with people you love—love in all kinds of different ways—that’s really calling to her?

It takes long hours before she can come to any kind of peace with herself. Then she sets out to find Luke.

He tends to choose the harshest spots on the island to meditate so that he can challenge himself to block out the wind and blistering cold. Luke’s deep in meditation when Rey sees him at last, and she doesn’t want to interrupt him. Instead, she sits down beside him and tries to clear her own thoughts as well. 

Rey has no idea how much time has passed when she opens her eyes, but the sun is lower in the sky than it was when she closed them. Luke is staring out over the ocean.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “I don’t want to throw away my training.”

“I know,” he replies. “And I’ve been thinking about what you said.” He doesn’t continue, but Rey knows from experience that he has more to say, so she waits.

“The Jedi are nearly dead and gone,” he says at last. “There are just the two of us left, Rey. And I suppose, given that, we have to forge our way however we can.”

“I’m not sure what that means,” Rey says.

“It means the traditional Jedi training didn’t work with my last real padawan,” Luke replies. “We both know what happened to him. So maybe…” he pauses and looks at her. “Maybe there’s a new way—a middle path. Maybe you could train with me and also with Leia and do things differently.”

“Luke, I….” The thought of training with the general, too—of being back with the Resistance—was almost too much to take in at once.

He smiles at her. “I know,” he says again. “You may not believe it, but I do understand. I had my own friends—my own life.” A horrible shadow of grief passes over his face.

“Han?” she says, her voice filled with sympathy. She didn’t know Han for long, but she loved him like a father nonetheless.

“Han, Leia,” he says. “There were so many friends and comrades.” His eyes stray back out toward the open ocean. “I was young and impetuous once, too. I believed that the Light could come from love and friendship as well as from the Force. I’ve just forgotten, that’s all.”

Rey doesn’t know what to say, but he seems to sense that. He painstakingly pulls himself up off the ground and holds a hand out to her. She takes his offered help, and rises to her feet as well.

“So, shall we get organized for the trip back to D’Qar?” he asks, the smallest hint of a smile on his face. “We should try to get there before they actually leave for the new base.”

Rey’s whole face breaks open. “I’ll take care of everything,” she says. “We can leave today. And then….”

He nods. “And then,” he says, “you get to live your life and train as well.”

She starts to walk away, but stops herself. “Thank you for understanding,” she says.

He turns away, but she can just hear his words drift over the wind. “Thank you for bringing me back.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, what time do you get off duty tonight?” Rey asks with a grin.
> 
> “Seven,” Jess replies, taking a step closer. “Where’re you going to be at seven?”
> 
> “Your quarters?” Rey suggests.
> 
> Jess laughs out loud, and Rey can’t help but join her. 
> 
> “So, we’re not going to waste any time then?” Jess asks.
> 
> “What’s the point?” Rey asks, making Jess laugh again.

The hangar is in complete chaos when Rey lands the Millennium Falcon. She’s basically had the cockpit to herself the entire trip while Chewie and Luke played game after game of Dejarik together. Every now and then Luke’s laugh and Chewie’s raucous exclamations would reach her, and she’d smile.

But she’s not smiling any more. Mostly, she’s terrified. Because what if she made the wrong decision? What if she’s only going to make things harder for Finn and Poe by being around all the time when they’re just falling in love with each other? And this whole mixed-training thing might be a horrible idea that leaves her less qualified to help the Resistance. What if Jess isn’t as smitten now as she was when Rey left?

Rey’s pulse starts to race as she lowers the gangplank and a gust of air from the hangar bursts onto the Falcon. There are pilots and mechanics everywhere, all prepping the ships and other equipment for the coming evacuation. As Rey steps onto solid ground once more, she feels completely lost. She doesn’t see anyone she knows in the hangar except Snap, and she’s certainly not looking to engage with him.

She feels rather than sees General Organa walking toward them. The general stops to give Rey’s arm a quick squeeze, but then walks right past her, until she reaches her brother. Rey watches as they embrace each other for what feels like a long, long time.

Then she hears someone call her name.

Finn is rushing toward her as quickly as a man on crutches possibly can, an enormous grin on his face. He drops the crutches once he reaches her, though, and wraps her in a hug of his own. 

“Surprise!” he says. “I didn’t die.”

“I knew,” she replies, pulling away. “I knew you were okay.”

Finn gives her a funny look, but then Poe is there, claiming a hug of his own. 

“Glad to have you back,” Poe tells her. “This guy’s been pining for you.” He nods toward Finn.

In response, Finn wraps his arm around Poe’s shoulder and leans into him. “Absolutely,” he agrees. “I missed you every single day.”

She worries that Poe might get jealous, but when Finn and Poe’s eyes meet, it’s clear that whatever had been just beginning between them before isn’t so new anymore—and is much more serious. Poe’s arm curls around Finn’s waist and they literally become attached at the hip. Rey smiles at the two of them, happy for their happiness. 

“Is Jess…I mean, is she here or is she on mission?” Rey hates the desperation in her own voice almost as much as she hates the fact that Jess didn’t come to meet her when the Falcon came in.

“No, she’s here,” Poe says cautiously. “She’s just….”

Rey nods in understanding a little too vehemently. “I’ll have to catch up with her later then.” She turns away, looking for something—anything, really—to distract her from the disappointment she’s feeling and the sympathetic faces of her friends.

Instead of a distraction, Rey sees Jess. Standing at the very back of the hangar, Jess is watching them from afar. She's wearing the bottom of her orange flight suit, but the arms of it are tied around her waist, and her hair is in a loose, black braid wrapped like a halo around her face. Rey has never seen anything so beautiful.

They lock eyes, but for a second neither of them moves a muscle. Then Jess starts making her way through the crowd. 

Rey is vaguely aware that Finn is touching her arm, and gives him a confused smile. “It’ll be okay, Finn,” she tells him. “No matter what, it’ll be okay.”

She takes a deep breath and starts to walk toward Jess, meeting her right in the middle of the hangar.

“You’re back,” Jess says, stating the obvious. 

“Yes.” Rey’s eyes drop to her feet. “I’m going to finish up my training here.”

“Oh,” Jess says. “I guess that makes sense.” Rey’s not sure how it would make sense to anyone other than her and Luke yet, but she doesn’t say anything.

“So, you’re really going to be a Jedi?” Jess asks.

“I really am,” Rey replies. “Someday.”

Jess just nods. “That’s what I figured,” she says, her voice heavy. Then Jess squares her shoulders. “Look, I know this is awkward. But let’s try to be friends, okay?”

“You just want to be friends?” Rey asks, trying not to be crushed by the news. After all, that night probably didn’t mean the same thing to Jess as it did to her.

“No, I don’t,” Jess says, frustrated. “But I’m trying to deal with reality, Rey. I know what it means to be a Jedi, so I just want you to know that even if we can’t be anything more, I still want to be your friend.”

Suddenly, everything makes sense to Rey. “No, that’s not…” she begins, but it takes her a moment to figure out what else to say. “I came back because I didn’t want to live like a Jedi. I’ve been a hermit my whole life, Jess. I can’t live like that anymore. I want friends…I want more than that.”

“Even if you’re a Jedi?” Jess asks tentatively.

“Even if,” Rey replies. They hold each other's eyes for a second before Rey reaches out to touch Jess’s hand. “I want to be with you,” she says. “I mean, if that’s what you want, too. If you don’t, then….”

“No, I do!” Jess says a little too eagerly.

“Oh.”

“Oh.”

It seems like they both realize what they’ve just said at the same time, and both women blush.

“So, what time do you get off duty tonight?” Rey asks with a grin.

“Seven,” Jess replies, taking a step closer. “Where’re you going to be at seven?”

“Your quarters?” Rey suggests.

Jess laughs out loud, and Rey can’t help but join her. 

“So, we’re not going to waste any time then?” Jess asks.

“What’s the point?” Rey asks, making Jess laugh again. 

“I’m so kriffing glad you’re back,” Jess says, pulling Rey into a tight hug.

“Oh yeah?” Rey says, feeling more giddy than she ever has before. “Prove it.”

A wicked little grin passed over Jess’s lips and then she leans in and kisses Rey like she means it. They slip their arms around each other again and Rey lets out a sigh. She only vaguely registers that the others in the hangar are cheering until a voice that sounds like Snap’s says, “I thought we were going on a scouting run, Pava?”

They break apart, both grinning this time. 

“So, my quarters at seven?” Jess asks. “I mean, we should probably meet a little later. I’ll have to take a shower before we do anything else.”

Rey nods. “Or I could come right at seven and we could….” she says, a blush rising on her cheeks.

“We definitely could,” Jess says.

“And I’ve been working on levitation as part of my Jedi training….” Rey says with a glint in her eyes.

Jess’s eyebrows shoot up. “Just so you know, I’m taking that as a firm offer for tonight,” Jess says as she steps backward away from Rey. “So be prepared.”

Snap starts to call out once more about their flight, but Jess shoots him an obscene gesture and he closes his mouth again.

Rey watches as Jess slips her arms back into her flight suit and climbs into her X-wing, then turns to rejoin Finn and Poe.

Finn rumples her hair. “It’ll be okay,” he says, teasing her. 

“No matter what,” Poe adds. 

“Like you two should talk,” Rey says, and they all start laughing.

Never has Rey felt more sure that she made the right decision in her entire life. She follows her friends to the back of the hangar and through to the main hall behind it. There, she sees Luke and Leia, their arms around each other, walking in front of them. Luke turns back and sees Rey with her two friends, and gives her a smile and a nod.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” he calls to her.

“First thing,” she replies.

For now, Rey’s going to have some dinner in the mess hall and catch up with Finn and Poe. Then, at seven, she’s got a date to keep. And a life to live, at last.


End file.
